Businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure will receive new grants to help them keep afloat until spring, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said.
The grants will be worth up to £9,000 per property, the Treasury says.
The help is in addition to business rates relief and the furlough scheme which has been extended until the end of April.
Separately, £594m will be made available to affected firms outside these sectors, Mr Sunak said.
This money will be made available by local authorities.
In total, the package of measures is worth £4.6bn across the UK.
“The additional support announced by the chancellor will be welcomed by many businesses struggling for survival,” said Mel Stride, chair of parliament’s Treasury Committee, which scrutinises the finance department’s work.
“The chancellor must not forget those who have fallen through the gaps around previous support packages,” he added.
Newly self-employed people were often missing out, his committee has found.
Mr Sunak told the BBC he was “committed to protecting jobs and supporting businesses”.
He said he would consider whether or how to extend support packages such as the furlough scheme in March.
“The Budget early in March is an excellent opportunity to take stock of the range of support we have put in place and set out the next stage of our economic response,” he said.
Mr Sunak said the new support would “help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen”.
Businesses such as cafes, restaurants, leisure centres and shops that do not sell essentials have been particularly hard hit by coronavirus lockdown measures as people are told to stay at home.
All non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues are now closed, with pubs and restaurants allowed to offer takeaway food only.
Indoor and outdoor sport is also cancelled except for elite competitions.
The move was welcomed by the British Beer & Pub Association, which described the grants as a “lifeline”.
But it added that companies on which pubs rely, such as breweries, would also need help.
Commenting on the support measures for business announced by the Chancellor, BCC Director General, Adam Marshall said:
‘While this immediate cash flow support for business is welcome, itis not going to be enough to save many firms. We need to see a clear support package for the whole of 2021, not just another incremental intervention.
“The government must move away from this drip-feed approach and set out a long-term plan that allows all businesses of all shapes and sizes to plan, and ultimately survive.
“Many smaller firms won’t qualify for the full headline amounts set out in the Chancellor’s statement, and will be left struggling to see how this new top-up grant will help them out of their cashflow problems.
“Support must be sufficient to cover not just those on the front line of retail, hospitality and leisure, but also firms in supply chains and wider business communities who are also feeling the devastating impacts of these restrictions.”
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